The brake discs in composite carbon provide substantial improvements in performance and weight reduction compared with conventional steel discs, but their costs are so far not competitive for most applications. A consortium of companies specializing British had developed hard carbon made from manufacturing waste, offering both a lower cost and a sustainable development solution.
" Potential applications are wide ranging" said David Holme technical director of Federal-Mogul. In conjunction with the application for reduction of CO2 in the automotive industry, there is a need to decrease weight and increase performance brake systems in the rail industry, as well as greater consistency of braking systems across a range of industries transformation. If we can match or exceed the performance of today's best systems for lower cost, the benefits are considerable .

The project, called Rebrake covers the development of brake discs and recycled carbon that Federal-Mogul on compatible materials for brake pads.

" The program has recently passed an important milestone which confirmed the feasibility of the concept: making small test disks. Consequently, we already are moving towards the manufacture and testing of prototypes to large scale "Said David Holme. " They will be tested on benches and cars using plate formulations developed by Federal-Mogul .